Police Log

Posted
Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:00 pm

The Police Log is a digest of reports filed by the Warwick Police

TAKEN FOR A RIDEOfficer Daniel O’Connell was faced with a bit of a dilemma on April 13 when he got a call about a Providence cab driver who was chauffeuring a Providence woman around Warwick who had developed some doubt about whether she could, or intended to, pay him for taking her from Kennedy Plaza to Oakland Beach. O’Connell reported he was told the cab driver was slowly driving around Oakland Beach to give police time to catch up with him so he could explain the situation. O’Connell said he met up with the driver at the corner of Suburban Parkway and Oakland Beach Avenue. The driver said the woman asked him to take her to Post Road and when they got there, she then asked him to take her to other places in Warwick, ultimately ending up at Oakland Beach where the driver developed some doubts about getting paid. O’Connell said the woman told him their next destination would be the last, which was an address on Overton Street, which was just down the road, where “Michael” would pay the fare. O’Connell said he followed the cab there but there was no one home. He said he then asked the woman for some identification but she was uncooperative about that and whether she had the cash to pay the driver. She did give him her name and address and he had dispatch run a check. Dispatch told O’Connell they had a number of contacts with her within the last week “regarding previous arrests” for her. O’Connell said he then put her in the back seat of his cruiser while he continued to investigate. He said she told him to take her to Sovereign Bank and she would draw some money to pay the fare but did not show him any cards or books indicating she could use the ATM, but he drove her there anyway, with the hopeful cab driver following. O’Connell said he went into the bank and allowed her a confidential meeting with an employee but she came back with no money and said they had to go to a Citizens Bank at 2191 Broad St. in Cranston. This time, she was put in the back of the cab again and taken to that bank with the same result. O’Connell said he called his supervisor to tell him about the situation and Irene Semedo Monteiro, 42, of 57 Texas Ave. in Providence was arrested for evading the fare. After more than two hours of driving the woman around, the cab driver went away without his money. Monteiro was held for the Bail Commissioner.

TAKING ANOTHER RIDEOfficer Daniel DiMaio reported a call from Providence police on April 11 saying they had a Lojack hit on a stolen 2004 Saturn in the Cranston-Warwick area. DiMaio said he located the car in front of a house on Jefferson Street and knocked on the door. He said the woman who answered said it belonged to her daughter’s boyfriend who was sleeping upstairs. He said he woke the boyfriend up and asked him about the car and he immediately said, “I didn’t steal any vehicle.” He said the keys to the car were on the nightstand. He said he informed the boyfriend he was under arrest for driving a car without the owner’s permission and taken to headquarters. He said the suspect told him he bought the car from three guys on Craigslist for $1,600 cash but didn’t get a receipt for it. DiMaio said he learned that the suspect, Rickie Jennings, 25, of 750 Atwells Ave. in Providence, was already on probation for possession of a stolen vehicle in 2009. DiMaio said the plates on the car had been issued to Jennings.

SHOPLIFTINGShane R. Martin, 37, of 4 Whispering Lane in Warwick was arrested at the Wal-Mart store on Bald Hill Road on April 14 and charged with being a habitual shoplifter. Martin was arrested last month for being a habitual shoplifter. Court records show he was arrested for being a habitual shoplifter in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Martin was remanded to the ACI as a probation violator.Drea M. Arsenault, 36, of 12 Johnson Ave. in Warwick was arrested at the Stop & Shop in Meadowbrook on April 13 after security told police she left the store without paying for $166.65 in groceries. She was later released with a summons.Richard S. Dion, 41, of 617 Providence St. in Warwick was arrested on April 14 after security at the Sears store in the Rhode Island Mall told police he concealed a hammer worth $19.99 down his pants before leaving the store without paying for it. He was later released with a summons.

DUI AND REFUSALOfficer Michelle Caron reported an accident near Buttonwoods and West Shore Road around 8 p.m. on April 8. A caller told dispatch a woman hit a tree with a blue 2011 Toyota and had left the scene. Dispatch said the car had turned onto Atkins Street and she found the car outside 40 Atkins with a flat front tire and significant damage to the bumper. She said a woman beside the car told her she hit a curb on her way home from West Warwick. She said the woman smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated. She said the driver failed a field sobriety test and was taken to headquarters where she refused to take a breath test. Karen J. Shannon, 44, of 40 Atkins St. was charged with DUI and refusal and released to a sober adult.Officer Theodore Bulis reported he was dispatched to Ladd Street and Post Road around 8:30 p.m. for an accident. He said the driver of one of the cars told him she was not injured but appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. He said she failed a field sobriety test and was taken to headquarters where she refused a breath test. Kim E. Spooner, 46, of 86 Ladd St. was charged with DUI, second offense and refusal. Bulis said he later learned that a nearby business had the accident and the field sobriety test on video and he arranged for BCI to get a copy of the video.Officer Nicholas DiNardo reported he was on patrol around 8:25 p.m. on April 1 when he saw a car heading east on West Shore Road that was weaving from lane to lane and over the double yellow lines. He said he stopped the car at Larochelle Avenue and noticed that the driver used the door for balance getting out of the car and that he appeared to be under the influence. He said the driver failed a field sobriety test and was taken to headquarters where he refused a breath test. Charles McGraw, 53, of 528 West Shore Rd. was charged with DUI and refusal and later released to a sober adult.Officer Patrick Smith reported he was on Centerville Road around 12:48 a.m. on April 10 when he followed a pickup truck that was drifting from lane to lane heading east. He said he pulled the truck over after it turned onto Post Road. He said the driver smelled of alcohol and appeared to be under the influence. He said the driver failed the field sobriety test and registered a .142 and a .144 blood alcohol content on the breath test. Aaron Mello, 36, of 376 Arnold’s Neck Dr. was charged with DUI and laned roadway violations and later transported to Kent Hospital for detox. Officer Stephen Major reported an accident on Ives Road around 8:45 p.m. on April 13 between a car and a tree. He said Warwick Rescue had already loaded the driver into an ambulance and Major was questioning him about the accident when the EMTs said they had to take him to Kent Hospital and Major followed them there. He said the driver smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech and he informed him that he was under arrest for suspicion of drunk driving and asked him if he would take a blood test. He said the man refused the blood test and was charged with refusal and DUI. Major said he was not fingerprinted or processed due to his being treated at the hospital. William J. Burley, 59, of 298 Marlborough St. in East Greenwich was issued a summons at the hospital.